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Begin The Acrimony - The alliance culture of BTA/TAB


crushtania

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As a career diplomat on CN I've rarely been lending myself to impassioned defences of alliances. But as a Triumvir Emeritus of TAB and an ex-BTA member, I believe that the reformation of BTA is unjustified in the face of some simple facts as interpreted from a TAB insider.

The BTA Never Ceased to Exist, formally

Since the BTA never disbanded, the TAB could essentially be seen as BTA: Take Two - much like a company changing its trading name but continuing to provide the same service. Although slightly irrelevant to the game here, BTA was "reformed" with Sorum, CJ and MD in another game, !@#$%*. Fair enough too, considering the shared history.

MD was forced to leave BTA and under the surrender terms with CIS, the BTA changed its name to TAB. Leaving an alliance that you once founded seems like less of a close and substantial connection to the "living" ties TAB has with the name of BTA even now.

The BTA Lives on in TAB Alliance Culture

If the BTA meant nothing to TAB, its doubtless they would not have bat an eyelid at its hasty reformation. But at current, 2/3 of the Triumvirate joined the TAB while they were BTA and several members from the BTA era remain in the alliance. As evidenced here:

btame.jpg - The TAB service sigbar for BTA members.

BTA Members (for TABbies who also served in our predecessor alliance, the Blue Turtle Alliance)

It states in the wiki that TAB as TAB was re-founded by Zeke, CR and Sorum. Which is true; the BTA charter was dissolved and then ratified by these three individuals at the time of "re-launch" as it says here:

The Aquatic Brotherhood (TAB) was founded by +Zeke+, Count Rupert, and Fatt Sorum on April 16, 2007, under the guidance of the Confederacy of Independent States (CIS); though, TAB's predecessor alliance, Blue Turtle Alliance (BTA), was founded by Master-Debater and Voronov on October 21, 2006.

Näktergal says it best here:

The problem with that logic is that the membership of BTA, by accepting the shift to TAB, were essentially validating the change. It's been nearly a year since CIS ceased to exist (the new version notwithstanding), and yet TAB never chose to revert to the original name, or invite the old leadership back. While TAB honors its past and remembers its time as the BTA with pride, it's also built a number of relationships and established history as TAB as well.

And in the aftermath of the debacle in question, the BTA members freely admitted that MD was the one responsible for the alliance's problems, and thus, forfeited any real right he had. In the same way the NPO rejected Ivan, or the GGA cast Prodigal Chieftain out, it's long-since established in CN that no alliance founder necessarily has carte blanche to control or own the identity of any alliance in perpetuity - especially if their actions directly harm that alliance.

When multiple members of TAB who have been with the alliance since the BTA era - along with former BTA members who are now in various other alliances - all state that TAB is BTA, and that MD is wrong for what he's doing, perhaps that says a great deal about the validity of such things.

But Crush, you're the Triumvir of MHA, why do you care?

While I am proud of MHA, I still have TAB and BTA in my "heart", considering I spent the first almost two years of the game in that alliance. MD moved on to form =WE= and after time passed TAB had a good relationship with that alliance despite MD's self-confessed (and forgiven) arsehattery perpetrated during GWIII. Why reform BTA now, even though TAB did not believe it to be a good idea? That's anyone's guess. I just hope that MD can honor the memory of BTA by choosing a variation on the name or work this out with TAB to find a mutually beneficial solution.

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